This invention relates to a low profile fuze for hand grenades and is intended to preserve the symmetry of the grenade body by avoiding the need for a long protruberance such as identified with fuzes known to the prior art. Explosive devices such as hand grenades typically include a safety lever to prevent arming the device before it is thrown toward a target. Actuation of the primer charge detonates the grenade, whereby a grenade can be accidentally detonated when the safety lever is not pressed firmly against the body of the hand grenade before it is thrown. This is particularly true where the operative relationship between the safety lever and the primer permits actuation of the primer with only small displacement of the lever away from the grenade external surface. If the grip of the throwing hand is loosened, the safety lever which is under tension of a spring may lift itself up so that the grenade is detonated unintentionally. In one particular fuze design, a distance of 3.5 cm between the safety lever and the body of the grenade may free the firing pin and result in unexpected detonation. It is a hazard of hand grenades known in the prior art that the fuze may be armed merely by rough handling. As a result, personnel may be exposed to unexpected and serious danger.